Electronic tool and methods for meetings

ABSTRACT

An electronic meeting tool and method for communicating arbitrary media content from users at a meeting includes a node configuration adapted to operate a display node of a communications network, the display node being coupled to a first display. The node configuration is adapted to receive user selected arbitrary media content and to control display of the user selected arbitrary media content on the first display. A peripheral device adapted to communicate the user selected arbitrary media content via the communications network is a connection unit including a connector adapted to couple to a port of a processing device having a second display, a memory and an operating system, and a transmitter. A program is adapted to obtain user selected arbitrary media content, the program leaving a zero footprint on termination. The user may trigger a transfer of the user selected arbitrary media content to the transmitter.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/675,641, filed Feb. 18, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 17/121,919, filed Dec. 15, 2020, which is acontinuation of is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/725,401, filed May 29, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/212,170, filed Mar. 14, 2014, granted as U.S.Pat. No. 9,083,769, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 13/270,659, filed Oct. 11, 2011, granted as U.S. Pat. No.8,756,348, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application61/534,592, filed Sep. 14, 2011, and which is a continuation-in-part ofInternational Application PCT/EP2012/068166, filed Sep. 14, 2012, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. provisional application 61/534,592, filedSep. 14, 2011, U.S. provisional application 61/635,219, filed Apr. 18,2012, and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/270,659, filed Oct. 11, 2011,which are all incorporated by reference.

The present invention relates to electronic tools for meetings includingmethods or devices for providing connection to a communications network,to networks or methods of operating the network, methods or devices foruse in displaying media content as well as software for performing anyof these methods.

BACKGROUND

Tools for Collaboration

Allowing ad hoc groups of persons to communicate with each other is oneof the fundamental aspects of collaboration, problem solving,negotiation, teaching and education, etc. To assist in communication,there has been an explosion of electronic communication tools such aselectronic conferencing tools, e.g. synchronous and asynchronousconferencing, online chat, Instant Messaging, audio conferencing,videoconferencing, data conferencing, application sharing, remotedesktop sharing, electronic meeting systems, collaborative management(coordination) tools, project management systems, knowledge managementsystems, and social software systems.

One classic approach is the lecture or seminar often involving apresentation using presentation software. To a large extent thetraditional single person presentation or lecture has been maintainedwith the audience being in a rather passive mode as far as determining,constructing, augmenting or modifying the information to be presented isconcerned.

As with other business processes, meetings are going digital.Increasingly, people are using computer technology alone and inconjunction with broadband networks to support their meeting objectivesprior to and during an actual meeting. For example, e-mail is used topass around files for people to read prior to a meeting.

Collaborative workspaces in corporate networks and on the Internet offergeographically distributed collaborators a virtual repository fordocuments related to a project or a meeting. Electronic meeting supportsystems, such as interactive network-connected white boards andvideoconferencing appliances, are available for the benefit of those whoshare the same room as well as those who are in remote locations.

The AMIDA Final Public Report describes the overall methodology behindthe development of meeting support technologies. It reports thatnumerous studies confirm that meetings dominate the way people work.Namely, according to a study conducted by MCI Worldcom in 2003 abusiness person participates in 60 meetings per month. People meet ingroups for a multitude of reasons. They interact in numerous predictableand unpredictable ways and the results of their interactions are asvaried as the people who participate and the projects on which they arecollaborating or communicating. Studies of business processes alsoreveal that approximately 80% of the “workload” associated with aproject or process happens in preparation for a meeting. In other words,many people view the “live” meeting as a milestone or deadline by whichthey can pace and measure their productivity and that of theircolleagues. Unfortunately, for many information managers, being inperpetual meetings has reduced their ability to prepare adequately forthe next meeting, perpetuating a vicious and negative cycle.

However, Marc Al-Hames et al. report in “Audio-Visual Processing inMeetings: Seven Questions and Current AMI Answers”, that although largeparts of working days are consumed by meetings and conferences,unfortunately a lot of them are neither efficient, nor especiallysuccessful. They report a study in which people were asked to selectemotion terms that they thought would be frequently experienced in ameeting. The top answer—mentioned from more than two third of theparticipants—was “boring”; furthermore nearly one third mentioned“annoyed” as a frequently perceived emotion.

The conclusion is that despite the plethora of electronic aids tomeetings, fundamental problems in handling meetings have not beensolved. In fact organising and conducting meetings in a business contextinvolves a large number of factors.

Participation

A lack of efficiency of meetings is addressed in the article “Moodindicators on electronic meeting tools” IBM, IP.com number: IPCOMOOOOI171 ID, Publication Date: Mar. 12, 2003. This article addresses theissue that the lack of direct feedback makes meetings clumsy,inefficient and often unproductive. It proposes a “mood indicator” aswell as an “I want to ask a question” indicator which allow thepresenter to choose an appropriate moment to pause, change track orfield a question. It is argued that interrupting a presenter in fullflow can be awkward; however, sometimes it is difficult to get anopportunity to ask a question or make a comment when many differentpeople are trying to make their voices heard. In a similar vein, U.S.Pat. No. 6,966,035 suggests displaying a “murmur frame” for aparticipant to express a view. To increase user participation, US2010/0087139 discloses a system for sending a selection to anothercomputer, and US 2006/0095376 discloses a system for secure voting.

Commenting, voting or selecting requires that a central authorityprovides the information that is to be selected or commented or votedon. Hence, these proposals still leave a central figure such as thepresenter in a dominating position and the other members of the meetingare largely an audience with limited selection or voting orparticipation rights.

A further problem with meetings is that someone is usually late or hasto leave early. With the person arriving late one has to decide if themeeting is interrupted and a summary of the proceedings so far is given.For the person leaving early (often a senior person), subsequentdiscussions can go missing. If there is a notes taker, this provides apersonal summary of the meeting—but not an objective one.

Presents systems do not provide an optimal solution.

Legal and Security Issues

A legal requirement of a meeting is that presentations, comments andsubmissions need to be completely reproducible—in some circumstances,e.g. in a share holders' meeting, the events in the meeting should besubject to total recall. Computer-supported collaborative worktechnologies, particularly those which capture human verbal andnon-verbal communications (audio and video interaction) in addition totext and graphics generated during a meeting, promise to have a longterm impact on how people will prepare for and behave during andfollowing meetings. In addition, connecting to a network brings thedanger of virus, malware or spyware transfer in either direction, andthere is danger of copying of confidential information.

Practical Difficulties

Scalability and Ease of Use

There are even more fundamental problems with using electronic tools inmeetings. If two persons want to make two presentations then usuallyeither both presentations must be placed on one machine or there is aneed to swap between the presenters' machines. To bring the displaycontent of a computer to a projector, the most common ways are to use acable that connects the display adapter of the graphics card to thevideo input of the projector [method 1] or to use a software thatcaptures the display contents and sends it over a wired or wirelessnetwork to a remote base unit connected to the projector [method 2].This is often called “remote desktop” and is mostly used for remoteadministration or remote IT assistance purposes.

Less common but also practiced methods are to use a special deviceconnected to the display adapter of the graphics card, that captures,encodes and streams the display content over a wired or wireless network[method 3].

Method 1 has several practical problems and disadvantages. In meetingswhere people want to contribute content from their own computers, e.g.to project images on a display, typically a video cable such as a VGAcable is used to connect each PC one at a time to the projector. This isnot only not scalable but also can be and often is quite a cumbersomeprocess that typically wastes valuable meeting time and takes thedynamism out of the meeting.

Connection can be made more difficult and time consuming for example ifthe computer has to be rebooted for it to detect the projector or whenthe format of the PC differs from the format of the projector. Inaddition changing format can leave the computer with a new format thatis not compatible with its own screen so that on reboot of the PC alone,nothing is displayed on the computer screen.

Without a visible screen image the necessary re-configuration can bedifficult. These issues are aggravated by a number of elements:

-   -   The use of many different video adapters, such as VGA, DVI-A,        DVI-D, DVI-I, DP, HDMI, thunderbolt, . . .    -   Reach depends on cable length: too long leaves a tangled cable        “salad” in the meeting room, too short reduces flexibility,        often necessitating people to move around in the meeting room        when they want to present something.    -   Cable connection is either point to point or requires tedious        and extensive cabling and the use of complex and expensive video        switches.    -   It is often difficult and time consuming to find the right        display resolution and refresh rate that both the computer and        the display or projector support.

Known technical solutions are expensive and not 100% reliable. Method 2also has many drawbacks. If the connection is made to a corporate LANthere is a danger of virus, malware or spyware transfer in eitherdirection, there is danger of copying of confidential information, andthere is the difficulty of making the connection, e.g. entry of a usercode and password, as well the administration of such passwords and usercodes. In business contexts, visitors to meeting rooms typically do findtechnical difficulty with such means to connect to a central projectoror display in the meeting room.

Additional problems can occur with firewalls and proxies. Typically avisitor to a meeting will bring a computer such as a laptop that is setup for a different corporate networking environment and hence hasdifferent or incompatible networking settings. The setting up of afirewall can be complicated and if this is not done correctly,telecommunication software that has to pass through a firewall may beblocked. In order to solve problems associated with firewalls it may benecessary to open ports or identify or even add programs in an exceptionlist. If, besides a network (hardware) firewall and an operating systemfirewall, there is any software based third-party firewall likeZonealarm, CA Internet Security Suite or McAfee Firewall, then it isnecessary to follow that software developer's documentation to placeprograms on a safe list or adding exceptions to the firewall rules. Suchactivity is beyond the usual user. Fussing with computer settings, orhaving to call for IT support wastes valuable meeting time and takes thedynamism out of the meeting.

The advantage of method 3 is that the computer does not need to use itsown processing power to bring the display content in a form that iseasily transported over a network. This advantage becomes less relevantas computers grow in processing power. A drawback of method 3 is thatthe same problems often encountered with method 1 of connecting to thedisplay adapter remain. Another drawback is that the special devicereferred to requires significant processing power, which means that thisdevice will consume much power and will require a separate power supply,be relatively big and certainly be relatively expensive.

An alternative method in the making today is to use the well-known USBinterface of the computer for extracting the display content of thecomputer. US 2009/0198839 discloses such a pluggable cable arrangement.US 2011/0115689 discloses a similar USB solution for wireless connectionto a projector. Accordingly connecting a projector to a computer usingthe standard USB port might become commonplace with time. However, thisusually requires special drivers and even special hardware in thecomputer. Connecting a projector to a computer using the standard USBport hence might become commonplace—but even when that happens therewill be a mix of new and legacy machines for several years.

CONCLUSION

The following problems remain for holding a face-to-face meeting usingadvanced electronic tools at the present time:

-   -   Complexity of the networking infrastructure.    -   High demands on technical expertise of users in current systems        that are supposed to be designed to support everyday use by the        non-expert user.    -   Barriers to the use of complicated technology in meetings.    -   Great variety of possible collaborative software solutions—none        of which seems to solve the fundamental problems of holding        successful meetings.    -   Meetings being boring or annoying for members of the meeting.    -   Complexity of firewalls and other security measures employed in        corporate networks.    -   Lack of, or restriction of participation by members of a        meeting.    -   Time taken to prepare presentations for meetings.    -   Need to record events in the proper time sequence at meetings        without burdening a meeting more than necessary.

Although some tools solve some of these problems effectively, noelectronic meeting tool solves all of them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide network solutionsincluding electronic tools for meetings as well as devices for providingconnection to a communications network, to methods of operating thenetwork, methods of displaying media content as well as software forperforming any of these methods or for implementing such systems. Thereis also a need to capture what is actually shown or said in a meetingand not merely what might have been shown or said.

An aspect the present invention provides an electronic meeting tool forcommunicating arbitrary media content from users at a meetingcomprising: a node configuration means adapted to operate a display nodeof a communications network, the display node being coupled to a firstdisplay, the node configuration means being adapted to receive userselected arbitrary media content and to control display of the userselected arbitrary media content on the first display; and at least oneperipheral device adapted to communicate the user selected arbitrarymedia content via the communications network, wherein the peripheraldevice is a connection unit comprising:

-   -   (a) a connector adapted to couple to a port of a processing        device having a second display, a memory and an operating        system; and    -   (b) a transmitter for communicating with the communications        network, a program adapted to be loaded onto the processing        device and to run on the operating system of the processing        device, said program being adapted to obtain user selected        arbitrary media content, said program leaving a zero footprint        on termination, and an input device to allow the user to carry        out a user action that triggers transfer of said user selected        arbitrary media content to said transmitter through said port.

Obtaining user selected arbitrary media content is preferably notobtained by application sharing but by the process of screen scrapping.Although software packages that provide screen scraping requireinstallation on the target device, or at least require the installationof dedicated and/or custom drivers, embodiments of the present inventionuse software stored on the peripheral device which allows screenscraping when run on the processing device but leaves a zero footprintwhen terminated. Embodiments of the present invention can screen scrapefull HD videos at 20 fps without requiring any installation of a programon the processing device nor requiring configuring the processing devicesuch as a PC that they run on for the connectivity to the network hencemeeting “zero footprint” requirements.

The program adapted to be loaded onto the processing device and to runon the operating system of the processing device and being adapted toobtain user selected arbitrary media content can be stored on theperipheral device. The transmitter can be a wireless transmitter ortransceiver. The peripheral device can be a plug-and-play device. Theprogram can be adapted to screen scrape content of the second display.

The input device can be physical actuator coupled to the peripheraldevice. The physical actuator preferably has a surface area of between100 and 14,400 square mm. Alternatively, the input device can be a keydisplayed on the second display. The key displayed on the second displaycan be one not screen scraped by the program.

On the peripheral device a mass storage device is provided that storesthe software to be run on the processing device. The mass storage devicecan be logically closed once the software has been read and loaded andis running from RAM in the processing device. Also provided on theperipheral device is a further device such as an HID (human interfacedevice) to capture user input and provide user feedback. In embodimentsof the present invention, the peripheral device contains multipleinternal logical devices that are combined:

-   -   An HID (human interface device) used for capturing user input        (e.g. following a user action such as pressing or activating a        button) and providing user feedback, e.g. by an optical        indicator such as a light ring around the button e.g. an LED        ring, for streaming the screen scraped video content to the        network and hence to a base unit and a display,    -   A mass storage device used to store the application,    -   An audio device that acts as a virtual sound card to a client PC        over USB, using a generic driver such as a UAC1 or UAC2 device        driver.

Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to applicationsharing but make use of screen scraping which is able to capture allmaterial in a neutral manner rather than being limited by proprietaryapplications. Further the screen scraper application is zero footprinton termination rather than being fully installed on the processingdevice. Embodiments of the present invention can provide arbitrary “fullcontent” to the meeting room and participants can display in real-time,

The real-time content is shown on a central display rather than beingbroadcast to individual participants or archived.

Embodiments of the present invention “auto compose” arbitrary user dataon a central display or screen so that full real-time content that isprovided by multiple meeting participants who intentionally share thiscontent in order to make the meeting more effective and efficient,

Embodiments of the present invention implement a principle of“democratic screen sharing”, in which the meeting participants decidethemselves on a peer-to-peer basis which content to share when andwhere. In particular in some embodiments a participant can obtainunilateral access to the display device, i.e. without agreement of otherparticipants. Peer-to-peer data sharing differs from systems in whichthe content to be displayed is determined by a presenter or meetingdirector. The user determines where his content is routed to, and can doso without any software configuration on the user processing device.

Another aspect the present invention provides a method for connecting aprocessing device to a communications network, the processing devicehaving a memory, a display and an operating system with at least onepre-installed generic driver providing a generic communications protocolfor communication between processing device and a standard class ofperipheral devices, the method comprising the steps of:

-   -   a) coupling a peripheral device to the processing device, the        peripheral device having a transceiver;    -   b) setting up, by means of the pre-installed generic driver of        the operating system, a means for communication between the        peripheral device and the processing device; c) coupling the        processing device to a communications network via the peripheral        device;    -   d) routing screen scraped data between the processing device and        the communication network via the means for communication,        wherein the generic communication protocol is used for        transferring the screen scraped data between the processing        device and the peripheral device.

The routing of the screen scraped data can be to a defined network nodesuch as a display node without user entry of configuration details. Thusthe routing can be dedicated to a specific network node such as adisplay node, base station etc. This is achieved by pairing of theperipheral device to the relevant node before the communication starts.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention users start anapplication from the peripheral device such as a USB dongle, thus makingthe connection in a 3 step process: (1) connect, e.g. plug in theperipheral device to the processing device, (2) start the screenscraping application, (3) perform a user action such as click on abutton on the peripheral device to go allow content to be displayed onthe central screen or display. To achieve step 2 Autorun or AutoPlay canbe used with some Windows operating systems, but there are manydifferent variants based on the OS version and which patches have beeninstalled. Furthermore, this mechanism is generally considered asecurity hazard, which is why most IT departments will disableAutorun/Autoplay. Other OS providers have disabled this function, e.g.Apple removed a similar functionality entirely from its OS/X since SnowLeopard. In an embodiment of the present invention a very smallservice—also called daemon on some OS's—is provided that requiresinstallation on the processing device such as a laptop. This service ispre-installed on the processing device. The installation is requiredonly once on every processing device such as a laptop. The role of thisis to provide a permanently running service that continuously monitorsif a peripheral device according to the present invention has beenoffered up for connection to the processing device. When such aperipheral device is connected, the service will detect this and startthe client application software residing in the mass storage area of theperipheral device. Once the service is installed, connectivity with theperipheral device becomes a 2 step process: connect, e.g. plug in theperipheral device to the processing device, and (2) perform a useraction such as click on a button on the peripheral device to allowcontent to be displayed on the central screen or display. Theapplication loaded from the processing device still leaves a zerofootprint on termination

Step b) can comprise presenting the peripheral device to the processingdevice as a human interface device and wherein the pre-installed genericdriver is a human interface device driver. Alternatively or additionallystep b) can comprise presenting the peripheral device to the processingdevice as a mass storage device and wherein the pre-installed genericdriver is a mass storage device driver.

Alternatively, or additionally step b) comprises presenting theperipheral device to the processing device as a composite device andwherein pre-installed generic drivers drive different device interfacesindependently.

A client application can be stored on the peripheral device which whenrun on the processing device obtains the screen scraped data. Such aclient application can be a portable application and can leave a zerofootprint on termination.

In another aspect the present invention provides a peripheral device forproviding communication connectivity to a processing device which isprovided with memory, a display and an operating system with at leastone pre-installed generic driver providing a generic communicationprotocol for communication between the processing device and a standardclass of peripheral devices, the peripheral device comprising a memoryin which executable software code is stored for execution on theprocessing device, said executable software code comprising: a firstsoftware code portion for setting up, by means of the pre-installedgeneric driver of the operating system, a means for communicationbetween the peripheral device and the processing device;

-   -   a second software code portion for connecting the processing        device to a communications network via the peripheral device,        the peripheral device having a transceiver;    -   a third software code portion for screen scraping data from the        processing device; and a fourth software code for routing screen        scraped data between the processing device and the        communications network over the means for communication; wherein        the first software code portion is adapted to use the generic        communication protocol for transferring the screen scraped data        between the processing device and the peripheral device.

The first software code portion can be adapted to present the peripheraldevice to the processing device as a human interface device and whereinthe pre-installed generic driver is a human interface device driver. Thefirst software code portion can be adapted to present the peripheraldevice to the processing device as a mass storage device and wherein thepre-installed generic driver is a mass storage device driver. The firstsoftware code portion can be adapted to present the peripheral device tothe processing device as a composite device and wherein pre-installedgeneric drivers drive different device interfaces independently.

The executable software code can comprise fifth code for providing ameans for connecting to the communications network including a basenode. The third code can be for providing means for capturing videoframe buffers of the processing device.

The executable software code can comprise sixth code for providing ameans for encoding, compressing and optionally encrypting the screenscraped data and sending the screen scraped data the communicationnetwork. The executable software code can comprise seventh code forproviding a means for handling the peripheral device. The executablesoftware code can comprise eighth code for providing means forinitiating connection to the base node. The executable software code cancomprise ninth code for receiving inputs from an input device on theperipheral device. The executable software code can comprise tenth codefor providing a means for sending state changes to the visual indicatoron the peripheral device. The executable software code can compriseeleventh code for providing a means for sending state changes to thevisual indicator on the peripheral device. The executable software codecan comprise twelfth code for providing a means for presenting to theuser a GUI. The executable software code can comprise thirteenth codefor presenting a GUI for administration of the said executable softwarecode when executed as a portable application. The executable softwarecode can comprise fourteenth code for providing a means for displayingand activating a key on the display of the client processing device forallowing a user to input the start the transfer of data from theprocessing device to the base node.

In another aspect the present invention provides a peripheral device forproviding communication connectivity to a processing device which isprovided with memory, a display and an operating system with at leastone pre-installed generic driver providing a generic communicationprotocol for communication between the processing device and a standardclass of peripheral devices, the peripheral device comprising a memoryin which executable software code is stored for execution on theprocessing device, said executable software code comprising:

-   -   a first software code portion for setting up, by means of the        pre-installed generic driver of the operating system, a means        for communication between the peripheral device and the        processing device;    -   a second software code portion for connecting the processing        device to a communications network via the peripheral device,        the peripheral device having a transceiver; and    -   a third processing software code for routing data between the        processing device and the communications network over the means        for communication; wherein the first software code portion is        adapted to use the generic communication protocol for        transferring the data between the processing device and the        peripheral device, and an input device coupled to the peripheral        device, the input device being adapted to react to a user action        to trigger the transfer of the data from the processing device        to the peripheral device.

The first software code portion can be adapted to present the peripheraldevice to the processing device as a human interface device and whereinthe pre-installed generic driver is a human interface device driver. Thefirst software code portion can be adapted to present the peripheraldevice to the processing device as a mass storage device and wherein thepre-installed generic driver is a mass storage device driver. The firstsoftware code portion can be adapted to present the peripheral device tothe processing device as a composite device and wherein pre-installedgeneric drivers drive different device interfaces independently.

The input device is preferably a physical actuator coupled to theperipheral device. The physical actuator preferably has a surface areaof between 100 and 14,400 square mm. The input device can be for examplea key for display on the display. The executable software code cancomprise fourth code for providing a means for connecting to thecommunications network including a base node. The executable softwarecode can comprise fifth code for providing a means for capturing videoframe buffers of the processing device. The executable software code cancomprise sixth code for providing a means for encoding, compressing andoptionally encrypting the video frames and sending them over a securelink to the base node. The executable software code can comprise seventhcode for providing a means for handling the peripheral device. Theexecutable software code can comprise eighth code for providing a meansfor initiating connection to the base node. The executable software codecan comprises ninth code for receive inputs from an input device on theperipheral device. The executable software code can comprise tenth codefor providing a means for sending state changes to the visual indicatoron the peripheral device. The executable software code can compriseeleventh code for providing a means for presenting the user a GUI. Theexecutable software code can comprise twelfth code for presenting GUIfor administration of the executable software code when executed as aportable application. The executable software code can comprisethirteenth code for providing a means for displaying and activating akey on the display of the processing device for allowing a user input tostart the transfer of data from the processing device to the base node.

In another aspect of the invention a peripheral device is provided forproviding communication connectivity to a processing device which isprovided with memory, a display and an operating system with at leastone pre-installed generic driver providing a generic communicationprotocol for communication between the processing device and a standardclass of peripheral devices, the peripheral device comprising a memoryin which executable software code is stored for execution on theprocessing device, said executable software code comprising:

-   -   a first software code portion for setting up, by means of the        pre-installed generic driver of the operating system, a means        for communication between the peripheral device and the        processing device;    -   a second software code portion for connecting the processing        device to a communications network via the peripheral device,        the peripheral device having a transceiver;    -   a third software code portion for receiving media content from        the network and for displaying the media content on the display        in accordance with a set of rules; wherein the first software        code portion is adapted to use the generic communication        protocol for transferring the media content between the        peripheral device and the processing device.

The executable software code can comprise fourth code for providing ameans for correctly configuring a receiver as an access point. Theexecutable software code can comprise fifth code for providing a meansfor listening for output of connection units trying to connect on aspecific port. The executable software code can comprise sixth code forproviding a means for a GUI for administration purposes. The executablesoftware code can comprise seventh code for providing a means forpublishing its presence over the network using the zeroconf protocol.The executable software code can comprise eighth code for providing ameans for accepting and installing software updates. The executablesoftware code can comprise ninth code for providing a means forproviding facilities for pairing of connection units to the processingdevice. The executable software code can comprise tenth code forproviding a means for auto-composing of different incoming arbitrarymedia streams and rendering of composited image on display. Theexecutable software code can comprise eleventh code for providing ameans for receiving, decrypting and decoding incoming arbitrary mediacontent. The executable software code can comprise twelfth code forscaling of incoming arbitrary media streams. The executable softwarecode can comprise thirteenth code for providing a means for displayingincoming arbitrary media content in accordance with a set of rules.

The present invention also provides a method for communicating arbitrarymedia content from users at a meeting comprising:

-   -   operating a display node of a communications network, the        display node being coupled to a first display, to receive user        selected arbitrary media content and to control display of the        user selected arbitrary media content on the first display; and        connecting a peripheral device to a port of a processing device        and communicating the user selected arbitrary media content via        the communications network,    -   loading a program onto the processing device and running the        program on the operating system of the processing device to        obtain user selected arbitrary media content, said program        leaving a zero footprint on termination, and triggering transfer        of said user selected arbitrary media content to said        transmitter through said port after a user action on an input        device. The present invention also provides a peripheral device        comprising:    -   a base    -   a connector for connection to a plug and play port of a host        processing device, a flexible connection between the base and        the connector for transferring data signals and power,    -   an actuator on the base for actuating a signal and for        transferring the signal to the connector for transfer to the        port, wherein the base has electronics comprising permanent        storage for storing a portable application, a processing engine,        a transceiver and a visual indicator. The present invention also        provides a method for providing communication connectivity from        a processing device,    -   setting up a communications network between a base node of the        communications network and a peripheral device coupled to the        processing device;    -   transferring media content between the processing device and the        peripheral device, transmitting the media content from the        peripheral device to the communications network,    -   receiving media content from the communications network at the        base node and displaying the media content on a display in        accordance with a set of rules.

Any of the above software code stored on a non-transitory storagemedium.

Definitions

The term “unilateral electronic access to the display device” by aparticipant, means that the displaying process is obtained by the action of only one participant involved in the meeting, without requiringthe agreement of another or the others. The term “unilateral” impliesthat the data for display is allowed to override or replace any datadisplayed on the screen by the same or another participant of themeeting.

“Plug and play” is a term used to describe the characteristic of acomputer bus, or device specification, which facilitates the discoveryof a hardware component in a system, without the need for physicaldevice configuration, or user intervention in resolving resourceconflicts. Plug and play devices can be added to a bus of a computingsystem (while running or when shut down), and the newly added device andpossibly the rest of the computing system is automatically configured tomake the newly added device work, both from hardware and from softwareperspective. Plug and play interfaces include for example (not anexhaustive list): Firewire (IEEE-1394), PCI, Mini PCI, PCI Express, MiniPCI Express, PCMCIA, PC Card, Universal Serial Bus (USB), SDIO cards.

“Auto-configuration” is the automatic configuration of devices withoutmanual intervention, without setting any switches or jumpers, andwithout any need for software configuration. An example ofauto-configuring devices: USB devices. Examples of auto-configuringprotocols: DHCP, Zeroconf, Bonjour. A plug and play device hasauto-configuration software by default to make it plug and play.Example: USB devices are made to be plug and play by including thecorrect auto-configuration software (e.g. host driver, host stack,application software).

Autoconfiguration can also refer to a software alone and is notrestricted to a physical device. “Hot swapping and hot plugging” areterms used to describe the functions of replacing computer systemcomponents without shutting down the system. More specifically, hotswapping describes replacing components without significant interruptionto the system, while hot plugging describes the addition of componentsthat would expand the system without significant interruption to theoperation of the system. A well-known example of this functionality isthe Universal Serial Bus (USB) that allows users to add or removeperipheral components such as a mouse, keyboard, or printer. Otherexamples are eSATA, PCIe, Fire Wire, for example.

A “portable application” (portable app), sometimes also calledstandalone, is a computer software program designed to run withoutinstallation on the target machine. This type of application is storedon a removable storage device such as a CD, USB flash drive, flash card,or floppy disk—storing its program files, configuration information anddata on the storage medium alone. It is a program that can be stored onan electronic device such as a USB flash drive, iPod, memory card,portable hard drive or other portable electronic device and runs on acomputer or other processing device coupled to the electronic devicewithout making permanent configuration changes to the host computer. Allsuch programs have a zero-footprint, meaning all temporary files,registry entries, and any other changes to the machine exist only whilethe program is running. To be considered a portable application, forpurpose of this invention, a software program must:

-   -   Not require any kind of formal installation onto a computer's        permanent storage device to be executed, and can be stored on a        removable storage device such as USB flash drive, iPod, memory        card, portable hard drive or other portable electronic storage        device thus enabling it to be used on multiple computers.    -   Settings are stored with, and can be preferably carried around        with, the software (i.e., they are written to the electronic        device such as a USB drive).

Settings are not stored to the registry or any other central systemdatabase of the computer.

-   -   Leaves a zero (or near-zero) “footprint” on any PC it is run on        after being used, i.e., all temporary files/registry settings        should be either avoided or at least removed once the program        has exited, and files created by the user can be saved directly        to the same removable media as the application is stored on. A        portable application does not leave its files or settings on the        host computer on which it runs. For example, the application        does not write to the Windows registry or store its        configuration files (such as an INI file) in the user's profile;        instead, it stores its configuration files in the program's        directory. Another requirement, since file paths will often        differ on changing computers due to variation in Windows drive        letter assignments, is the need for applications to store them        in a relative format. Preferably, such a program does not        require a launcher program to copy necessary settings and files        to the host computer when the application starts and move them        back to the application's directory when it closes as this may        leave a residue on the hard drive in case of power failure.

“Electronic meeting systems” (EMS) need to be distinguished on the onehand from classic groupware, on the other from web conferencing systems.In reality, there is some overlap between minor features of products ofthe named categories. The main difference from groupware is theintensity of collaboration. EMS should be distinguished from systemswith which it is possible to show the contents of an individual computerscreen on a remote display with multiple users at the same time.

“Groupware” supports collaboration within groups where the individualcontributions remain identifiable. In contrast, EMS enable the group tocooperatively produce a result for which the group is responsible as awhole. In a business process, groupware and electronic meeting systemscomplement each other: Groupware supports teams when researching andcreating documents in the run up to an EMS session or when implementingthe results of such a session. “Web conferencing systems” and“electronic meeting systems” complement each other in the online meetingor workshop: EMS extends the web conferencing system by providinginteractive tools for producing and documenting group results. On theother hand, “web conferencing systems” complement EMS with the screensharing and voice conferencing functionality required in synchronousonline meetings and not present in EMS.

“Data conferencing” refers to a communication session among two or moreparticipants sharing computer data in real time. Interaction andpresentation devices such as a screen, keyboard, mouse, camera, etc. canbe shared. It is a term used to distinguish from video conferencing andaudio conferencing. The data can include screen, documents, graphics,drawings and applications that can be seen by the participants of themeeting.

“Application sharing” is an element of remote access, falling under thecollaborative software umbrella, that enables two or more users toaccess a shared application or document from their respective computerssimultaneously in real time. Generally, the shared application ordocument will be running on a host computer, and remote access to theshared content will be provided to other users by the host user.Application sharing should be distinguished from systems in whichcollaboration on the applications between different users is notpossible but the contents of individual computer screens can beprojected onto a remote display with multiple users at the same time.

The term “arbitrary media content” refers to the fact that a user maygenerate, create or select any media content that is appropriate todisplay, i.e. on an ad hoc basis. This differs from client voting on, orselecting of media content that is displayed by another in a meeting orpresentation. This term refers to client oriented, distributed rightsand privileges for the display of content rather than a centralpresenter providing content which is presented to the members of themeeting.

“Screen scraping” in our sense refers to reading the video frame buffersand processing them, rather than just rendering them on a display.Screen scraping for presentations is described in US2002/0196378 toSlobodin et al which is included herein by reference.

“Auto composition” or “auto layout” refers to the automatic nature inwhich multiple graphics/video sources are rendered on a central display,without user intervention and in a way that a user would intuitivelyexpect it to happen.

“Wireless” and “wireless communication network” can be any network thatdoes not use cable links between nodes, e.g. uses RF, optical orInfraRed for communication purposes, such as IrDA, diffuse infra-red,WLAN, WiMax, WiFi, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth or any other wirelesscommunication network known to the person skilled in the art such asoptical networks like LiFi.

“Computer” generally refers to a processing device, i.e. having aprocessing engine capable of various types of digital processing, suchas rendering graphics images for display. A computer can be in the formof a work station, a personal computer, a laptop, a palm top, a PDA, asmartphone, a tablet etc.

Generally a computer has memory such as volatile RAM. Non-volatilememory such as a hard disc, optical disk or solid state memory can beincluded in the computer or can be a peripheral device. Currently mostcomputers are electronic but the term “computer” also includes opticsbased computing devices.

The term “pre-installed generic driver” is intended to mean a driverwhich is installed on a processing device such as a computer as astandard driver, e.g. is installed with the installation of theoperating system. Such a driver is standard for the operating system andcan drive a standard class of peripheral devices coupled to or connectedto the processing device. The installation of a specific driver for sucha peripheral device is not required. Such a generic driver can be ahuman interface driver (HID) or a mass storage device driver, which haspredetermined software components configured for driving mass storage, aCD-ROM, a keyboard etc. or combinations of these. Such devices can bereadable and writable computer peripheral memory devices such as USBmemory sticks, flash memories, external hard drives, or more.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a shows a meeting room that can be used with embodiments of thepresent invention. FIG. 1 b shows a combination of a client processingdevice, a connection unit, a base node and a display in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a screen display in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show a base node and a peripheral device and a clientprocessing device in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 shows a display in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 shows a peripheral device in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 shows a client processing device in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a further client processing device in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a peripheral device in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention will be described with respect to particularembodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention isnot limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described areonly schematic and are non-limiting.

Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in thedescription and in the claims, are used for distinguishing betweensimilar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential orchronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriatecircumstances and the embodiments of the invention can operate in othersequences than described or illustrated herein. Moreover, the terms top,bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims areused for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describingrelative positions. The terms so used are interchangeable underappropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention describedherein can operate in other orientations than described or illustratedherein. The term “comprising”, used in the claims, should not beinterpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it doesnot exclude other elements or steps. It needs to be interpreted asspecifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps orcomponents as referred to, but does not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components,or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression “a devicecomprising means A and B” should not be limited to devices consistingonly of components A and B. It means that with respect to the presentinvention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term “coupled”, also used in thedescription or claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted todirect connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device Acoupled to a device B” should not be limited to devices or systemswherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input ofdevice B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A andan input of B which may be a path including other devices or means.

Elements or parts of the described devices may comprise logic encoded inmedia for performing any kind of information processing. Logic maycomprise software encoded in a disk or other computer-readable mediumand/or instructions encoded in an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other processoror hardware.

References to software can encompass any type of programs in anylanguage executable directly or indirectly by a processor.

References to logic, hardware, processor or circuitry can encompass anykind of logic or analog circuitry, integrated to any degree, and notlimited to general purpose processors, digital signal processors, ASICs,FPGAs, discrete components or transistor logic gates and so on.

Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to three majorproblems with meetings: a) the time taken to prepare for a meeting. Thisis mainly achieved by allowing “on-the-fly” presentation of anydisplayable information. This information does not have to be linkedinto any particular presentation software, nor to be compatible with anysuch presentation software,

-   -   b) the time taken to conduct the meeting using electronic        meeting tools. This is achieved by reducing the time to connect        computers to the display or projection system.    -   c) the time taken to reflect and review and document the meeting        afterwards.

This is achieved by providing the possibility of recording the course ofthe meeting in the same time sequence that it was carried out as well asbe able to store all data presented and who presented it.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 a is a schematic representation of a generic meeting room 30 witha meeting table that can be used with embodiments of the presentinvention. Participants 37 having some form of processing device 31 suchas a laptop computer, a tablet, a PDA etc. Each of the processingdevices 31 can be a host device and has a first connection unit 47 towhich it is coupled. The first connection unit 47 provides access to anetwork 50 which in this case is a wireless network, but could be awired network. The network can be a shared resource network. Eachconnection unit 47 may be coupled to an input device 48 which will bedescribed in more detail later. A user 37 will typically at a distancefrom the processing device 37 which is ergonomically satisfactory. Thisergonomic boundary is typically an area of about 1000 sq cm to 4000 sqcm. This ergonomic boundary will typically have the user as one side ofthe boundary and the comfortable reach of the arms will determine anarea on the left and right of the processing device which falls withinthe ergonomic boundary and the far edge of the boundary of theprocessing device (normally delimited by a display screen) willdetermine the other side of the ergonomic boundary. The area defined bythe ergonomic boundary will overlap or include the processing device 31itself. The processing device will also have an outer physical boundary.The input device 48 is preferably arranged to operate outside theboundary of the processing device 31 but within the ergonomic boundary.Preferably the input device is arranged to function when it is flat onthe table. The input device preferably has an size of activation area ofbetween 1 and 144 square cm. In other embodiments of the presentinvention a wireless memory card can be provided to enable a secondWi-Fi link on a processing device such as a laptop or tablet. Thewireless memory card stores data and media and fits into the laptop justlike a regular SDHC card. The wireless memory card preferably hasbuilt-in Wi-Fi that effortlessly transfers data, photos and videos toanother device or computer. For instance an Eye-Fi card (www.eye.fi) canbe used to enable the latter,

Preferably the network 50 is a local area network, (e.g. a sharedresources network) i.e. preferably local to the meeting room forsecurity reasons but the network 50 may have access to other local orwide area networks such as 51 or to a larger corporate network or theinternet 43, for example via a router 42. Another node of the network 50is the base or display node 36. This node 36 may optionally be awireless access point. The base node 36 may also be a processing deviceor host computer and may be coupled to a second connection unit 49 thatprovides access to the network 50 thus linking all of the processingdevices 31, 36 together. The connection unit may have an input device asdescribed above. Alternatively, network connections installed on thebase node 36 can be used. Audio equipment 46 may be provided, e.g. atelephone that allows other members of the meeting to call in fromremote destinations.

The display node 36 is coupled to and adapted to allow display of mediaon some kind of display 44. The display node is in embodiments of thepresent invention a base node of the communications network 50. Thedisplay 44 may be a projector and/or screen, the projector being coupledto the base node 36. A whiteboard 45 can optionally be provided that canbe optionally coupled to the display 44 and/or the base node 36, e.g.when the whiteboard can record electronically what is written on it.Optionally, a camera 35 may be provided to record the entries on thewhiteboard 45. The camera 35 may have a third connection unit 52 forconnecting the camera 35 to the network 50 so that the data from thewhiteboard can be recorded and stored or transmitted to other networksvia router 42. The connection unit 52 may have an input device 53 asdescribed above for the connection unit 47.

Optional equipment can be cameras 39, 40, 41 for recording the progressof the meeting. These cameras can be linked by a network 51, e.g. acable network to the router 42 and/or the base node 36. Another optionalitem is a microphone or microphones 38 that can be used to transferaudio, e.g. to the processing devices 31 and to loud speakers (notshown) attached to the base node 36 or part of the display 44.

Any or all of the outputs of the processing devices 31, the cameras, thewhiteboard, etc. can be recorded and stored digitally, e.g. in node 36or elsewhere to provide a complete record with correct time sequence.Summarising the above, the present invention provides an electronicmeeting tool for communicating arbitrary media content between differentusers 37 (with their own processing devices 31, e.g. PC, mobile phone,or tablet) and one display or projector or multiple displays orprojectors 44 in the meeting room 30.

Referring to Figs, Ia and Ib embodiments of the present inventioncomprise a base or display node 36 being a processing device, e.g. ahost computer adapted to receive user selected arbitrary media content,the base node 36 being coupled to a central display 44 which can be afixed format display and/or a projector or similar. The arbitrary mediacontent can be provided from any of the user processing devices 31. Thebase node 36 can be adapted to display the received user selectedarbitrary media content in accordance with a set of rules, e.g. FIFO,automatically, on request or approval, forced to display, in accordancewith a priority etc. Optionally the base node 36 is adapted to forcedisplay of the received user selected arbitrary media content, i.e. toallow participation in the meeting by an individual user displaying ownselected content on display 44 independently of the person who isnominally responsible for giving a presentation or chairing the meeting.Forcing the display can also be considered as a rule. The phrase“unilateral electronic access to the display device” defines this kindof rule as “unilateral” means that the displaying process is obtained bythe act ion of only one participant involved in the meeting, withoutrequiring the agreement o another or the others. The term “unilateral”implies that the data for display is allowed to override or replace anydata displayed on the screen by the same or another participant of themeeting. The meeting tool can also be adapted to allow a prioritysetting. This means that a user can set a priority setting for the mediato be displayed. A priority of “1” for example can be interpreted by thebase node as a forced display, a priority “2” can be interpreted by thebase node as display as soon as possible, priority “3” can beinterpreted by the base node as place in queue and display as the timecomes etc. Setting and using priorities for display are also consideredto be working to rules. To execute the rules, the base node 36 may havea decision module. The base node 36 may be a host computer having aprocessing engine such as a microprocessor and a memory. Preferably, thebase node 36 is adapted to treat media content passed to the base node36 from any or all of the connection units 47 in an equal manner. Thebase node 36 may be adapted to auto compose the media content on thecentral display 44 connected to it, e.g. from one or more processingdevices 31.

An independent aspect of the present invention is at least oneconnection unit 47, (optionally 49 for receiving or camera connectionunit 52) adapted to communicate the user selected arbitrary mediacontent to said base node 36. Preferably the connection units 47 and/oroptionally 49 are physical plug-and-play devices. An example of aconnection unit is shown schematically in FIG. 10 .

The connection unit 47 (or optionally connection unit 52) may beintegrated into a user processing device 31, e.g. as an internalperipheral device or may preferably be an external peripheral devicecomprising a connector adapted to couple to a port of a user processingdevice 31. The processing device 31 may have a client display, aprocessing engine such as a microprocessor, a memory and an operatingsystem. The optional connection unit 49 may integrated into the basenode 36, e.g. as an internal peripheral device or may be an externalperipheral device comprising a connector adapted to couple to a port ofthe base node 36. The connection unit 49 may be fully integrated intothe base node 36, e.g. is an internal network interface of the base node36. The base node 36 may have a processing engine such as amicroprocessor, a memory and an operating system.

In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the peripheraldevice can be coupled wirelessly to the processing device, and pairedwith the processing device such as a tablet or laptop through Near-FieldCommunication (NFC). In other embodiments of the present invention, thepairing of the peripheral device can be performed additionally byproviding means for receiving biometric data such as a microphone(voice) or a camera (face or iris) or a finger swipe (fingerprint) tothe peripheral device. Then the peripheral device can be personalized,or paired, by means of voice or face recognition, respectively. The termvoice recognition refers to finding the identity of “who” is speaking,rather than what they are saying. Recognizing the speaker by voicerecognition can simplify the task of translating speech in systems thathave been trained on specific person's voices or it can be used toauthenticate or verify the identity of a speaker as part of a securityprocess. “Voice recognition” means “recognizing by voice”, somethinghumans do all the time over the phone. As soon as someone familiar says“hello” the listener can identify them by the sound of their voicealone.

The user processing devices 31, the connection units 47, (optionally 49,52) and the base node 36 co-operate to form a communication network 50for linking between at least one of the plurality of processing devices31, 36, 35 and the central display device 44. The communication network50 is adapted to receive arbitrary media content from at least one ofthe plurality of processing devices 31 and to transmit the arbitrarymedia content of at least one of the plurality of processing devices tothe central display device 44.

In some embodiments the storage means of the peripheral device can beadapted to record or share information. For instance, the peripheraldevice can be adapted to further comprise a private communicationchannel (e.g. to enable chatting), which can communication with aprivate communication channel of another participant of the meeting.

An independent aspect of the present invention is a portable application60 adapted to be loaded onto a client processing device 31 and to be runon the operating system of the client processing device 31. The portableapplication 60 runs as a process on the client processing device 31 thatis adapted to deliver an arbitrary media content from the clientprocessing device 31 to the communication network 50 in response to auser action applied to an input device 48, the process leaving a zerofootprint on the processing device 31 on termination. The network 50 canbe a shared resource network. Optionally the portable application 60 isstored on each connection unit 47 and optionally 49. Preferably theportable application 60 is adapted to “screen scrape” content of theclient display of the client processing device 31. Optionally theportable application 60 when run on a processing device 31 is adapted to“screen scrape” content of the client display of this client processingdevice 31 and to transmit it via a connection unit 47. Optionally theportable application 60 when run on the processing device is adapted to“screen scrape” content of the client display of the client processingdevice 31 and to transmit it via a network interface of the processingdevice 31, for example if the connection unit 47 has no transmitter orit is not functioning.

The connection unit 47 for communicating with said base node 36 has anetwork interface e.g. comprising a transmitter 62. The transmitter 62is preferably a transceiver. Optionally the transmitter/receiver can bea wireless transmitter/receiver.

The base node 36 for communicating with the connection unit 47 has areceiver 63 which can be included in the connection unit 49 orintegrated into the base node 36. The receiver is preferably atransceiver. Optionally the transmitter/receiver can be a wirelesstransmitter/receiver.

The input device 48 allows a user interaction with the connection unit47. Preferably the input device 48 is physical actuator coupled to theconnection unit 47. The user action applied to the input device 48generates a signal that can trigger transfer of data from the processingdevice 31 (to which the connection unit 47 is coupled) to the network50. Preferably the input device 48 has an activating surface that isbetween 100 and 14,400 square mm. Optionally the input device 48 can bea key displayed on the client display 1 of a client processing device31. This key can be activated, e.g. by use of a pointing device such asa mouse trigger transfer of data from the processing device 31 to thenetwork 50.

The connection unit 47 is preferably provided with a visual indicator61, e.g. for allowing user feedback from the connection unit 47 of thestatus of any activity. The system also can include a server program 64adapted to be loaded onto the base node 36, said program 64 beingadapted to receive arbitrary media content from one or a plurality ofclient processing devices 31 through said connection units 47,(optionally 49), and to show this plurality of arbitrary media contentstreams on one or a plurality of displays 44. The server program 64 maybe adapted to allow display in accordance with one or more rules, e.g.FIFO, automatically, on request, forced, in accordance with a priorityetc. The forcing rule can be described as “unilateral electronic accessto the display device” as “unilateral” means that the displaying processis obtained by the action of only one participant involved in themeeting, without requiring the agreement of another or the others. Theterm “unilateral” implies that the data for display is allowed tooverride or replace any data displayed on the screen by the same oranother participant of the meeting. To execute the rules, the serverprogram 64 may have a decision module. Preferably, the server program 64is adapted to treat media content passed to it from any or all of theconnection units 47, 52 in an equal manner. The server program 64 may beadapted to auto compose the media content on the central display 44.

The server program 64 may be a portable application adapted to be loadedonto the base node 36 and to be run on the operating system of the basenode 36. The portable application 64 runs a process on the base node 36that is adapted to display an arbitrary media content received from theclient processing device 31 via the communication network 50, theprocess leaving a zero footprint on the base node 36 on termination.Optionally the portable application 64 is stored on each connection unit49 and optionally 47 and can be installed therefrom.

Meetings in which visual information is presented on a display orprojector commonly suffer from a monopoly effect: one single presenterdetermines the display contents and thereby has a disproportionate powerto influence the meeting dynamics and thereby its outcome. Embodimentsof the present invention solve this problem by allowing multipleindividuals to simultaneously show their information. The presentinvention provides according to some embodiments a method to overrideall currently displayed material. In a sense the method of the presentinvention transforms visual communication into something akin totalking, i.e. full-duplex and with the option to shout and interrupt.

The system may also include a central display device 44 and optionally awhiteboard 45 or other display means such as a printer. The display 44being adapted to receive user selected arbitrary media content, and maybe adapted to allow display of the received user selected arbitrarymedia content in accordance with one or more rules, e.g. FIFO,automatic, forced, on request or approval, in accordance with a priorityetc. The forcing rule can be described as “unilateral electronic accessto the display device” as “unilateral” means that the displaying processis obtained by the action of only one participant involved in themeeting, without requiring the agreement of another or the others. Theterm “unilateral” implies that the data for display is allowed tooverride or replace any data displayed on the screen by the same oranother participant of the meeting.

Optionally, one of the connection units 47 can be adapted to be a masterconnection unit. Such a master connection unit may be adapted toinstruct the base node when media content from a client processingdevice 31 may be displayed or which of the processing devices may beallowed to send content for display.

In embodiments of the present invention, at least one portableapplication is used, e.g. for the client software on a client processingdevice 31 or optionally on the base node 36. In these embodiments, oneof the pre-installed generic drivers of the operating system on therelevant computer device 31, 36 is exploited for setting upcommunication from the computer device 31, 36 to the network 50 via theconnection unit 47, (optionally 49). The generic driver is used inconnection with the connection unit 47, (optionally 49) operating as aperipheral device but the use can go beyond that of the standard classof peripheral devices for which the generic driver is intended. In someembodiments the connection unit 47, (optionally 49) operated as aperipheral device communicates with the relevant processing device 31,36 by using a generic communication protocol provided by thepre-installed generic driver. Pre-installed USB drivers are examples.

Preferably the setting up of the communication of network 50 usingconnection unit 47, (optionally 49) does not alter or affect thenetworking capability of the relevant processing device 31, 36. Forexample, if a browser is started on the client processing device 31,this browser can use the standard network interfaces on the processingdevice 31. This means that transfer of data via the connection unit 47(optionally 49) is independent of transfer of data over the networkinterfaces of processing device 31 or 36. This has the advantage thateach user can carry out processing such as searching on the internet togather data independently of the transfer of data to be displayed duringa meeting, or receive emails etc.

The use of a portable application has the advantage that anymodification to settings in the register or generally in the operatingsystem can be avoided, so that upon any form of termination, e.g.disconnecting the electronic device, system crash, no trace is left.This is generally termed “zero footprint”.

The present invention has the advantage of scalability. It can provide adisplay system for use by a plurality of users in meetings. Every userin the meeting thus can have a client processing device 31 for couplingto a connection unit 47. A first user action connects the clientprocessing device 31 to the base node 36, e.g. by inserting a connectionunit 47 into the relevant interface connector on the processing device31, e.g. a USB interface. A second user action comprising activating abutton or key on the input device (e.g. by depressing it) then startsthe process of transmitting arbitrary media content from the clientprocessing device 31 to the base node 36. This process preferablyincludes screen scraping data from the processing device. Using screenscraping avoids special programs being installed on the base node 36 tocarry out graphical commands sent from the processing device 31. Whenthe base node 36 receives the plurality of arbitrary media content, itcan allow auto composition of this media content on the central displayconnected to it.

In some embodiments, the button or key can be virtual button which isdisplayed on the screen instead of a button or key on the input device,which for instance can be the peripheral device. Preferably, when theprocess of transmitting arbitrary media content has been activated, thescreen scraping data from the processing device does not scrape thevirtual button. The latter can be enable for instance by positioning thevirtual button on a second layer which is not scraped.

The present invention will now be described further with reference tocertain more specific embodiments.

The present invention in some embodiments provides a system and/or amethod to which in one aspect can override all currently displayedmaterial when arbitrary material is presented on a display device frommore than one source processing devices such as a laptop, PDA,smartphone, computer, tablet etc. The present invention in one aspectcontrols the display of visual communication and information by a methodakin to talking, i.e. full-duplex and with the option to interrupt or toobtain unilateral electronic access to a display device.

One embodiment the present invention can be implemented through aconnectable peripheral device e.g. a USB compatible device, such thatwhen the peripheral device is connected to a processing device that isused to provide arbitrary information such as text, video, picturesetc., each individual user with a processing device can to gain accessto the display, e.g. screen. By being present at the meeting a user canpair the peripheral device to a processing device by inserting theperipheral device. The user can also pair the peripheral device to abase node or base unit that controls the display in the meeting room andwhich is connectable to the peripheral device via a communicationsnetwork such as a wired or wireless communications network. The networkis a shared resources communications network as different devices andparticipants can transmit data over the network. To achieve this, theperipheral device has a transceiver capable of transmitting thearbitrary data from the processing device to the display via the basenode. In one option the information displayed on the local display ofthe processing device is screen scraped and transmitted. To allow thisthe peripheral device can include a portable application that is able toexecute on the processing device leaving a zero-footprint ontermination. Although a physically connectable peripheral device isconvenient, the peripheral device could also be coupled to theprocessing device via a wireless connection, e.g. via the Bluetoothprotocol. For meetings with remote participants it is not possible torely on the same hardware connectable peripheral device to provideaccess from a remote location to the display in the meeting roomdirectly. Typically, at home or in a hotel, the participant only has aphone and internet access on a laptop or some other kind of portablecomputing device. Remote participants lack context (e.g. non-verbalcommunications) and have less than ideal audio/video connections andconsequently suffer from a power-asymmetry. Typically, remoteparticipants also have no way of ‘pushing’ their contents on screen,since the meeting is controlled by a meeting organiser or director whoorchestrates the sequence of presentations. One of the key advantages ofthe present invention is to provide remote collaboration whilemaintaining a kind of ‘situational awareness’. This means that what yousee has a straightforward relationship with your internal mental map.This allows keeping track of multiple information flows and being ableto correlate that quickly with any other information, e.g. with a searchcarried out on the local computing device.

In another aspect of the present invention confusion and frustration isavoided by:

-   -   1. retaining aspect ratio of any image that is sent from any        location to the display in the meeting room or displays in        meeting rooms (e.g. a long thing remains a long thing)    -   2. not overlapping images and/or windows on any of the display        devices in the meeting rooms (e.g. you never have to guess or        remember what's hidden)    -   3. showing the same arrangement of images on each screen        (everyone sees the same things and can refer to them), this        means that the topological arrangement of images on each screen        of multiple screens is the same,    -   4. maximizing the use of screen real-estate (e.g. the images        presented do not have borders containing no useful information),        while preferably no allowing overlapping of the images    -   5. allowing local manipulation of zoom and pan but allowing to        return to the default layout of item 3 above    -   6. arranging the images on each display taking into account the        local display characteristics, such as any of resolution, pixel        density, aspect ratio,    -   7. optionally also allowing an ongoing audio connection to be        heard by all participants, e.g. that verbal communications will        be used to alter the contents of the screen.

With reference to FIG. 2 , the base node software (6) running on a basenode 36 can be adapted to display on the central display a splash screen(21) showing its readiness to receive arbitrary media content over itsreceiver. This splash screen (21) can also show instructions on how touse the system, as well as the configuration parameters (see later) toreach the base node 36. These configuration parameters are also shown ina transparent canvas at the bottom of the central display (22).

A client processing device 31 that wants to have its arbitrary mediacontent displayed on the central display connected to the base node 36is connected to a connection unit 47. The portable application 60 willbe executed on the client processing device 31 as a host device. A firstuser interaction creates a connection between the portable application60 and the base node 36 using the transmitter in the connection unit 47and the receiver in the base node 36. This user action can be aconnection of the connection unit 47 to the processing device 31. Asecond user interaction, this time on the input device 48, activatesscreen scraping by the portable application of the arbitrary mediacontent from the client processing device display, which is then sentover the connector unit 47 to the base node.

The base node 36 receives the plurality of arbitrary media contentcoming from one or more connection units 47, and auto composes thismedia content for rendering on the central display.

The visual indicator 61 on the connection unit 47 indicates to the userand to other participants in the meeting that media content is beingsent by that connection unit 47 to the base node 36 for display.Repeating the second user interaction on the input device 48 of aconnection unit 47 decouples the media content from that connection unit47 from the base node 36. The base node 36 removes that media contentfrom the composed image on the central display and recomposes theremaining content on the central display. The content on the centraldisplay/projector is auto arranged as shown in FIG. 2 . When user 1 addscontent, his/her display will be scaled to fill the available centraldisplay canvas as much as possible, but without affecting the aspectratio. When user 2 adds in, his content is added to the side of thefirst image. When user 3 adds his content, the arrangement is a suitableone such as triangle wise. Adding user 4, the image becomes a 2 by 2tiling, which is the maximum available. When an additional user attemptsto add content, he will be blocked. When a user initiates action toremove his/her content, his/her media content is removed from thecentral display and one moves backward in the composition sequence shownin FIG. 2 .

Base Node Software

The base node software has one or more of the following features:

-   -   First code for providing a means or a method step for correctly        configuring the receiver of the base node.    -   Second code for providing a means or a method step for listening        for output of connection units trying to connect on a specific        port.    -   Optionally, third code for providing a means or a method step        for a GUI for administration purposes, offered for example over        a web interface.    -   Optionally, fourth code for providing a means or a method step        for publishing its presence over the network using the zeroconf        protocol.    -   Optionally, fifth code for providing a means or a method step        for accepting and installing software updates of the base node        as well as for the portable application software for the        connection units.    -   Sixth code for providing a means or a method step for providing        facilities for pairing of connection units to the base node.    -   Seventh code for providing a means or a method step for        auto-composing of different incoming arbitrary media streams and        rendering of composited image on display or projector screen.    -   Eighth code for providing a means or a method step for        receiving, decrypting and decoding incoming arbitrary media        content.    -   Optionally ninth code for providing a means or a method step for        scaling of incoming arbitrary media streams Optionally tenth        code for providing a means for displaying incoming arbitrary        media content in accordance with a set of one or more rules.

Any of the above code may be stored on a non-transitory machine readablestorage medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, magnetic tape,solid state memory, USB mass storage device etc.

Portable Application for the Client Processing Device

The portable application comprises an algorithm for screen scraping.Screen scraping algorithms include VNC and RDP or similar. The algorithmmay include a combination of algorithms such as VNC and RDP that areoptimized for different content, e.g. static text or video. The portableapplication has one or more of the following features:

-   -   Eleventh code for providing a means or a method step for        connecting to a network including the base node.    -   Twelfth code for providing a means or a method step for        capturing video frame buffers of the client processing device,        i.e. computer (C), also called screen scraping.    -   Thirteenth code for providing a means or a method step for        encoding, compressing and optionally encrypting these video        frames and sending them over a secure link to the base node.        Only changed areas such as rectangles or triangles of the screen        (or any other suitable geometrical shape) need to be        transferred, and different types of rectangles or triangles are        encoded in different ways (e.g. RLE, JPEG, . . . ) to optimise        performance.    -   Fourteenth code for providing a means or a method step for        handling the connection unit.    -   Fifteenth code for providing a means or a method step for        initiating connection to base node.    -   Sixteenth code for receive inputs from the input device on the        connection unit.    -   Seventeenth code for providing a means or a method step for        sending state changes to the visual indicator on the connection        unit.    -   Optionally, eighteenth code for providing a means or a method        step for presenting the user a GUI (18).    -   Optionally, nineteenth code for presenting GUI for        administration of the portable application.    -   Optionally, twentieth code for providing a means or a method        step for displaying and activating a key on the display of the        client processing device for allowing a user input to start the        transfer of data from the client device to the base node.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a frame grabber. A framegrabber, known in the prior art, is an electronic device that capturesindividual, digital still frames from an analog video signal or adigital video stream. It is usually employed as a component of acomputer vision system, in which video frames are captured in digitalform and then displayed, stored or transmitted in raw or compresseddigital form. In recent years, connections via USB, Ethernet and IEEE1394 (“Fire Wire”) interfaces have become prevalent. The frame grabberof the present invention, enables HDMI or Display Port capture insteadvia USB. The frame grabber preferably functions as follows:

-   -   Connect to the base unit using a TCP/IP socket interface.    -   Capture the video frame buffers of the computer,    -   Encode, compress and encrypt these video frames and stream them        over a secure link to the base unit. Only changed rectangles of        the screen are transferred, and different types of rectangles        are encoded in different ways (e.g. RLE, JPEG, . . . )    -   Present the user a GUI

Any of the above code may be stored on a non-transitory machine readablestorage medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, magnetic tape,solid state memory, NAND Flash, etc.

In this embodiment the portable application stored on the connectionunit, and is executed in an execution context on the client processingdevice. The portable application does not need to be copied to orinstalled on the computer. It can be executed directly from theconnection unit. It will only be copied temporarily into an executioncontext on the client processing device. There are also no changes inconfiguration required or settings in the client processing device. Thismeans that nothing will remain on the client processing device when theconnection unit is removed. It also implies that the portableapplication will run on client processing devices where the user doesnot have the necessary access rights to install software.

The portable application is designed in such a way that

-   -   No specific drivers need to be installed on the client        processing device.    -   Pre-installed drivers are used, e.g. for classes of peripheral        devices.    -   It is independent from vendor specific graphics hardware.    -   It runs on at least one and preferably on a variety of different        client processing devices, including Windows, Mac OS/X, Linux,        Android, iOS and many others.

Advantages

The present application has one or more of the following advantages:

-   -   No need for a master role in the meeting    -   Standard plug and play connectivity of connection units to base        node    -   Simple and well known user actions are employed    -   Own networking facilities of client processing devices not        blocked    -   No configuration changes on the client processing device    -   Input devices are easily accessible; e.g. large size    -   Program updates of portable application and server program can        be performed locally    -   Portable applications are used, no installation, multi-platform,        no vendor specifics    -   Particular implementation of screen scraping done by portable        application avoids vendor specific graphics devices    -   Standard drivers are used so no need to install extra drivers    -   No configuration changes on the client processing devices    -   Zero footprint applications on client processing devices—nothing        to clear up or adjust or reset    -   Own networking facilities of client processing devices not        blocked—No configuration changes on the user computers    -   Low virus, malware and spyware risk

The portable application may be stored on a non-transitory machinereadable storage medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk,magnetic tape, solid state memory, nand Flash etc.

Second Embodiment

In the second embodiment, referring to FIGS. 2 to 5 , the base node is aseparate physical processing device called base unit (B), comprisingpermanent storage, memory, a processing engine, a wireless access point(4), a plug and play interface such as a USB port (11), a graphicsdisplay output adapter (5) like VGA/DP/DVI/HDMI, and optionally an audiooutput adapter (27). An input device having an actuator such as a button13 and a visual indicator 14 are optional.

The connection unit is a physical device in the form of an externalperipheral device (shown in the drawings as a “dongle” D) comprisingpermanent storage storing the portable application (7) and configurationparameters (12), memory, a processing engine (e.g. CPU, FPGA), awireless transmitter such as WiFi (3) or other wireless transmitterssuch as LiFi, a plug and play interface such as a USB interface (2), abutton as input device (9), an LED ring as visual indicator (10). Theportable application is stored on the peripheral device (7). The clientprocessing device is host device, for example a computer or laptopcomprising a display, a plug and play interface such as a USB port (2),memory, and a processing engine such as a microprocessor.

The system thus comprises:

-   -   an external peripheral device (D) that has a plug and play        interface such as a USB interface (2) on one end and a        communications interface such as a wireless interface configured        as client (3) on the other end.    -   a base unit (B) that has a communications interface such as a        wireless interface configured as access point on one end (4) and        a video card adapter (5) like VGA, DVI, DP or HDMI on the other        end.    -   a portable application (7) stored on the peripheral device (D)        but executed on the client processing device (C)    -   a base node software (6) stored and executed on the base unit        (B)

The external peripheral device (D) also preferably has any one or anycombination of:

-   -   a large button as actuator for the input device (9) allowing        user interaction with the peripheral device. The button        preferably has an actuation surface area of between 100 and        14,400 square mm.    -   visual indication such as a LED (10) allowing user feedback from        the peripheral device. The user feedback can be in the form of a        light ring.

An advantage of embodiments of the present invention is to provide datatransfer to the peripheral device via a peripheral interface such as aUSB interface on any processing device such as a computer in a mannerthat is largely operating system independent and without leaving afootprint (Zero-Footprint). Installation of drivers and/or applicationsonto such a processing device as a computer is not necessary whereverpre-installed generic drivers are present. Administrator rights on theprocessing device such as a computer are preferably not necessary. Toavoid the need for administrator rights, embodiments of the presentinvention use other peripheral device pre-installed drivers such as USBclass drivers supported without any extra installation. Embodiments ofthe present invention route at least screen scraped data presented byclient software running on the processing device for transfer to acommunications network via a peripheral device such as a USB device.This bypasses any network interface of the processing device C (andhence many firewalls) but only for the specific client software. Otherapplications are not affected and can make use of the standard networkinterfaces, i.e. packets from/to the TCP/IP stack are transferred to anetwork device as normal. The client software is launched from theperipheral device such as a USB composite device or storage device as aportable application, which can avoid that any traces are left on thehost OS.

Basic Usage Scenario of the Second Embodiment

The base node software (6) displays on the projector a splashscreen—(21) in FIG. 5 —showing its readiness to receive arbitrary mediacontent over its receiver (4). This splash screen (21) also showsinstructions on how to use the system, as well as the configurationparameters (see later) to reach the base node. These configurationparameters can also be shown in a transparent canvas at the bottom ofthe central display (22).

To avoid user interaction for the configuration of the connectionbetween peripheral device and base unit, a pairing process is used. Thispairing process provides the peripheral device, i.e. the connection unitwith networks parameters needed to set up the local network. As anexample, the peripheral device can be briefly plugged into the USB port(11) of the base unit (B). The base unit then optionally does a softwarevalidity check, optionally does a software update of the portableapplication stored on the peripheral device, and writes the connectionparameters on the peripheral device (D) required for the peripheraldevice and base unit to find each other to the permanent storage (8).For example, when using WiFi, this could be the SSID, WEP/WPA2 keys andIP address and port number of the base unit's receiver, as well as theport number used by the base node software, but not all of these arenecessarily needed to be exchanged.

A client processing device that wants to have its arbitrary mediacontent displayed on the central display connected to the base node (5)connects a peripheral device (D) to its USB port via (2). The peripheraldevice presents itself to the computer over interface (2) as a compositedevice comprising a mass storage device and a keypad. This has the majoradvantage that no specific driver is required, since all these devicesare natively supported in every personal computer system that has a USBport. If autorun is enabled, then the computer will automaticallyexecute the client software (7) stored in mass storage (8) on theperipheral device. The first user interaction mentioned in the generalcase is then just the connection of the peripheral device to the USBport. If security measures disabled auto-run, the user needs to explorethe mass storage on the mass storage of the peripheral device and startthe portable application manually.

The portable application will use the wireless, e.g. WiFi or LiFiinterface of the peripheral device (3) to connect to the correct basenode. To know the right base unit to connect to, the configurationparameters needed to make this connection are stored in the database(12) on the mass storage device (8) during the pairing process describedearlier.

Once the connection is made, the peripheral device goes into connectedmode. This means that there is now at least one channel from theperipheral device to the base unit. The content is not shown yet. TheLED (10) on the peripheral device now turns white to give a visualindication of this new state.

When the user at the computer (C) wants to show her content, she pressesthe button (9). When the button was previously in state “connected” (seeFIG. 6 ), it will check the state of the base unit (P). If the base unitis not in state “full”, the peripheral device will send the screenscraped arbitrary media content to the base unit (B), which will add themedia content to the composition on the central display. The peripheraldevice LED (10) now turns red to indicate “showing” state (FIG. 6 ).

The button (9) acts as a toggle. When the user presses the button again,that computer displays content will be removed from the projector. TheLED (10) goes back to white.

Use of the auto-run feature is optional if possible and enabled on thecomputer (C) to start the client software (7) as soon as the peripheraldevice is plugged in. On Windows for example, this means mounting theperipheral device as a mass storage device and using the autorun.inffile stored on the peripheral device.

In many cases however, this auto-run feature will be disabled forsecurity reasons. In that case, we will, if possible and enabled on thecomputer (C), use the auto-play feature to show the logo of theconnected peripheral device on the desktop of the computer. The userthen needs to double click on that logo to start the client software. Ifthe auto-play feature as described above is also not possible orenabled, the user must browse to the file system of the connectedperipheral device and start the application manually. This means doubleclicking the client.exe file on Windows, client. app on Mac OS/X ortapping the appropriate application icon on a tablet or any mobiledevice with touch screen.

Third Embodiment: Portable Application Stored on Standard Solid StateMemory Such as a USB Stick

In the third embodiment, the portable application is stored on a solidstate memory such as a regular USB memory stick (FIG. 7 ).

With a solid state memory such as a regular USB memory stick, there isno input device, visual indicator or transmitter of the kinds describedabove for the connection unit. This means that the system needs to:

-   -   Use the transmitter/receiver from the client processing device.    -   Use as input device a key or button on the client processing        device like a physical key on the keyboard, a special mouse        press, a button area on a touch screen, a button displayed on        the screen to be clicked on with a mouse pointer.    -   Present the visual indicator on the client processing device's        display.

The client processing device then looks like FIG. 8 .

This embodiment provides a peripheral interface such as the USBinterface on any processing device acting as a host device such as acomputer in a manner that is largely operating system independent.Installation of drivers and/or applications onto such a processingdevice as a computer is not necessary wherever pre-installed genericdrivers are present. Administrator rights on the processing device suchas a computer are preferably not necessary. To avoid the need foradministrator rights, this embodiment uses other peripheral devicepre-installed drivers such as USB class drivers supported without anyextra installation. This embodiment of the present invention routes atleast screen scraped data presented by client software running on theprocessing device for transfer to a communications network via a networkconnection of the processing device. The client software is launchedfrom the peripheral device such as the USB device as a portableapplication.

The first user operation then comprises:

-   -   plugging in the solid state device such as a USB memory stick,        starting the portable application (if autorun is disabled)    -   configuring the transmitter, such as the wired or wireless        network interface, on the client processing device to connect to        the correct base node, using the configuration parameters (22)        shown on the central display    -   triggering the connection of the portable application with the        base node, for example by interacting with an element on the GUI        (18) of the portable application presented on the display of the        client processing device.

Presenting visual feedback on user actions is in this embodiment alsodone using elements in the GUI of the display of the client operatingdevice.

In this embodiment, the advantage of zero footprint is partly realizedby the portable application in the sense that no software is installedon or copied to the client operating device, but there is aconfiguration change needed to connect the transmitter of the clientoperating device with the base node, which needs to be undoneafterwards.

Optionally, the portable application can make the configuration changesto the transmitter for the user in the background.

Advantages lost in this embodiment

-   -   Partial loss of zero footprint nature of portable application    -   More complex first user interaction    -   More expertise required from user    -   GUI needed on client operating device display, which is possibly        also shown on central display    -   Need to find free key on client operating device when using        physical key for second user action    -   Network interface is blocked from other uses by portable        application Optionally, the last point can be avoided by using        the base unit as a gateway to the network that the client        operating device wanted to connect to through its own interface.

Advantages are:

-   -   tight control of user connectivity to corporate network through        settings on the base unit    -   keep network connectivity intact even when transmitter is now        also used for display purposes

Disadvantage is a higher vulnerability of the system because the displayconnection is now possible a doorway into the corporate network.

What remains as advantages are

-   -   the availability of a physical medium to distribute the portable        application to users—no need to install or copy software to        client operating device    -   easy way to maintain software updates on the connection units        (here: memory sticks) via the base unit    -   possibility to write configuration data on the connection unit        by the base unit, for example in the form of a configuration        profile that can be read and used by the client operating device

Fourth Embodiment: Software Only Client Installed on the ClientProcessing Device

This embodiment is similar to the third embodiment, with as onlydifference that the software is copied on the client operating device(FIG. 9 ). In this case, no plug and play port such as a USB port isrequired on the client operating device.

This embodiment will typically be used for tablet PC's and mobiledevices. In that case

-   -   there is often no USB port available    -   application distribution is easy and widely accepted through        application stores

Fifth Embodiment: Base Node Software OEM'Ed to Projector or DisplayEquipment

In this embodiment, the base node is not realized as a separate physicalbox, but integrated into the processing unit inside a display orprojector. All other details are as previously described.

Sixth Embodiment

In this embodiment, the base node is not realized as a separate physicalbox, but integrated into the codec of a video conferencing equipment.All other details are as previously described. Seventh embodiment:Remote meeting participant

In this embodiment, one or multiple client operating devices are not inthe direct vicinity of the base node but on a remote location. Toaccommodate this case, the following adaptations are needed:

-   -   further compression and or scaling of the arbitrary media        content to allow use of low bandwidth connection    -   possibility to communicate connection parameters of the base        node to a remote user    -   connectivity of the base node to the WAN network to which the        remote user is connected

All other details are as previously described.

Eighth Embodiment: Multiple Base Nodes

In this embodiment, multiple base nodes are used. This can be done fordifferent purposes:

-   -   connectivity of multiple central displays    -   extension of real estate of central display    -   connectivity of base nodes in different remote locations

This provides the advantage that one can present on multiple base unitsfrom a single peripheral device. This is useful for a number of cases:

-   -   personal peripheral device: user can have a personal peripheral        device that is paired with multiple meeting rooms that he        regularly uses    -   use in meeting room with multiple base units each controlling a        different display in the same meeting room

The proposal uses a special variant of the peripheral device called amulti base peripheral device. The multi base peripheral device isequipped with a rotating wheel around the circular central “show me”button. This could be a mechanical rotating multi-position switch orsomething like the touch wheel on the iPod classic.

The pairing of this multi-base variant of the peripheral device:

-   -   the rotation wheel is put in the position of the corresponding        base unit.    -   the peripheral device is paired to the base node in the regular        way    -   the configuration parameters are stored in a permanent storage        location;    -   every position of the rotating wheel has a corresponding set of        connection parameters (e.g. different rows in a table) each        corresponding with a particular base

The connection of the peripheral device is as follows:

-   -   multi-base peripheral device X is plugged into a PC    -   rotation wheel on peripheral device X is put in position A    -   peripheral device X reads configuration parameters in position A        of its internal memory    -   peripheral device X connects to base node A    -   base node A indicates connection of multi-base peripheral device        X on central display screen    -   rotation wheel on peripheral device X is put in position B    -   peripheral device X reads configuration parameters in position B        of its internal memory    -   peripheral device X connects to base node B    -   base node B indicates connection of multi-base peripheral device        X on screen    -   continue until correct base is selected with rotation wheel    -   click the peripheral device input device e.g. button to show        content on central display of base node    -   rotating the wheel always first clicks away content from the        base of the last position

Ninth Embodiment

FIG. 10 shows a peripheral device 47 in accordance with an independentembodiment of the present invention including an input device. Thisembodiment can be used with any of the embodiments described above. Theperipheral device is configured as a connection unit and is a physicaldevice in the form of a connector for a plug and play interface of auser processing device as a host computer such as a USB connection, aflexible data and power connection connected to the connector and abase, the base having an actuator, e.g. a button configured to be aninput device with the functions as described above.

The base and/or the actuator is preferably large in size, e.g. having asurface area between 100 and 14,400 square mm. The base can be square,rectangular, round, hexagonal, oval, polygonal in shape or any otherergonomically suitable shape. The actuator is preferably round but canbe square, rectangular, hexagonal, oval, polygonal in shape etc. therecan be more than one actuator on one base.

The length of the flexible data and power connection, e.g. cable ispreferably adapted to place the peripheral device (when in its connectedin its operating position), especially the base and the actuator, in theregion between the boundary of the connected user processing device andthe ergonomic boundary as defined above. In addition the flexible dataand power connection should be adapted so that the base lies flat on themeeting table independent of the orientation of the connector needed toinsert the connector into the plug and play interface.

The base preferably includes electronics such as having permanentstorage for storing the portable application and the networkconfiguration parameters, memory, a processing engine (e.g. CPU, FPGA),a wireless transmitter/receiver such as for WiFi or LiFi, a plug andplay interface such as a USB interface, a LED ring as visual indicator.The visual indicator can be used for the LiFi interface. The portableapplication can be stored on the peripheral device, i.e. in the base.The visual indicator is for allowing user feedback from the connectionunit of the status of any activity.

Some examples for activation of the actuator which can be used with anyof the embodiments of the present invention:

-   -   Sound activated (hand clap, voice recognition, computer sound,        music, . . . )    -   Remote controlled via wireless connected device (IR, Bluetooth,        WiFi, . . . )    -   Light activated    -   Pressure activated, e.g. depression with a finger or hand,    -   Touch activated    -   Proximity (‘near-touch’ on the actuator or bringing the actuator        close to some object    -   Biometric reader such as Fingerprint reader, Iris scanner, DNA        analyser    -   Keypad, e.g. for entering Keycode e.g. a password

Alternative Embodiments

In the above embodiments, once the connection is made between theconnection device and a host computer, the peripheral device goes intoconnected mode. This means that there is at least one channel from theperipheral device to the base node. In accordance with any of theembodiments of the present invention a plurality of channels can be setup between the connection device and the base node. These channels maybe logical channels.

Some examples for such a multichannel arrangement may include the firstand one or more of the additional channels:

-   -   First channel is for the Scraped image stream (XDS)    -   Second channel is for GPU commands (OpenGL, DirectX)    -   Third channel is for Mouse pointer coordinates (absolute,        relative)    -   Fourth channel is for Mouse pointer icons    -   Fifth channel is for Image data files (JPEG, PNG, GIF, . . . )    -   Sixth channel is for Multimedia data files or streams (MPEG2,        MPEG4, OGG, H.26x, . . . )    -   Seventh channel is for Audio data files or streams (MP3, MP4,        AAC, WMA, . . . )    -   Eighth channel is for text or Document data files (DOC, DOCX,        PPT, PPTX, ODT, ODS, PDF, . . . )    -   Ninth channel is for transmission of a priority value 1, 2, 3 .        . . as described above.

In the above embodiments, a particular method of pairing the peripheraldevice with the base node has been described. Any of the embodiments ofthe present invention may include other pairing mechanisms of which someexamples are given below.

Some Examples for Pairing

-   -   Plug in the peripheral device, to a generic peripheral device        port such as a USB port of the base node or other USB enabled        device. Pairing info is transmitted over the generic peripheral        interface such as USB.    -   The Signal strength of the wireless channel to the base node is        used to identify which base nod is to be used    -   The Signal strength of the wireless channel or any other        channel. Example is an NFC/RFID transmitter can be provided        underneath the meeting room table.

Putting the user processing device such as a laptop and the peripheraldevice plugged in on this table automatically pairs the peripheraldevice with the base of this meeting room

-   -   Manual pairing (e.g. by entering IP address, hostname, wireless        ID (like SSID on WiFi)).

1. A method for composing images for display on one or multiple displaydevices, the method comprising: coupling at least one processing deviceto at least one communications network, each processing device having amemory and a display device, transmitting image data from the at leastone processing device to the one or multiple display devices via the atleast one communications network, the method further comprising thesteps of: a) retaining an aspect ratio of any image that is transmittedfrom the at least one processing device to the one or multiple displaydevices, b) not overlapping or preventing overlapping of any of theimages that are transmitted from the at least one processing device tothe one or multiple display devices, c) auto-composing images that aretransmitted from the at least one processing device to the one ormultiple display devices, and d) rendering the auto-composed images tothe one or multiple display devices.
 2. The method according to claim 1,further comprising the step of removing borders from images that aretransmitted from the at least one processing device.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising the step of arranging images onthe one or multiple display devices taking into account characteristicsof the display device, which characteristics are selected fromresolution, pixel density, aspect ratio.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one processing device has an operatingsystem with at least one driver providing a communications protocol forcommunication between the processing device and a peripheral device, andthe method further comprising the steps of: coupling a peripheral deviceto the processing device, the peripheral device having a transceiver;setting up, by means of the at least one driver of the operating system,a communication between the peripheral device and the processing device;coupling the processing device to the at least one communicationsnetwork via the peripheral device; routing image data between theprocessing device and the at least one communications network via thecommunication, wherein the communication protocol is used fortransferring the image data between the processing device and theperipheral device.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the atleast one driver is a pre-installed generic driver and the communicationprotocol is a generic communication protocol.
 6. The method according toclaim 4, wherein the step of setting up a communication comprisespresenting the peripheral device to the processing device as a humaninterface device and wherein the driver is a human interface devicedriver, or wherein the step of setting up a communication comprisespresenting the peripheral device to the processing device as amassstorage device and wherein the driver is a mass storage device driver,or wherein the step of setting up a communication comprises presentingthe peripheral device to the processing device as a composite device andwherein drivers drive different device interfaces with the processingdevice independently.
 7. The method according to claim 4, furthercomprising operating a display node of the at least one communicationsnetwork, the display node being coupled to a first display device of theone or multiple display devices, to receive image data and to controldisplay of images on the first display device; and connecting aperipheral device to a port of one of the at least one processing deviceand communicating image data via the at least one communicationsnetwork, triggering transfer of said image data to a transmitter throughsaid port after a user action on an input device.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 4, further comprising setting up a communicationsnetwork between a base node of the at least one communications networkand the peripheral device coupled to the processing device, transferringimage data between the processing device and the peripheral device,transmitting the image data from the peripheral device to the at leastone communications network, receiving the image data from thecommunications network at the base node and displaying images on the oneor multiple display devices.
 9. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe step of auto-composing images is done in accordance with a set of aplurality of rules, a rule being selected from any offirst-in-first-out, automatic, forced, on request or approval, inaccordance with a priority.
 10. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe step of transmitting image data from the at least one processingdevice to the one or the multiple display devices comprises compressingand/or scaling of the image data.
 11. The method according to claim 8further comprising loading a server program onto the base node of the atleast one communications network, the server program being adapted toreceive the image data and to auto-compose the images.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the images comprise windows and/or videosand/or any other graphic data.
 13. A system for composing images fordisplay on one or multiple display devices, the system comprising: atleast one processing device coupled to at least one communicationsnetwork, each processing device having a memory and a display device,wherein the at least one processing device is configured to transmitimage data to the one or multiple display devices via the at least onecommunications network, wherein the system is configured to: a) retainan aspect ratio of any image transmitted as image data to the one ormultiple display devices, b) prevent overlap of any of the images to bedisplayed on the one or multiple display devices, c) auto-compose imagesthat are transmitted from the at least one processing device to the oneor multiple display devices, d) render the auto-composed images to theone or multiple display devices.
 14. The system according to claim 13further configured to remove borders left/right or top/bottom of anyimage transmitted to the one or multiple display devices.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 13 further configured to arrange images on the one ormultiple display devices while taking into account any of the displayresolution, pixel density, aspect ratio and orientation of the displaydevice.
 16. The system according to claim 13, wherein at least oneprocessing device has an operating system with at least one driverproviding a communications protocol for communication between the atleast one processing device and a peripheral device, wherein the systemfurther comprises a peripheral device coupled to the at least oneprocessing device, the peripheral device having a transceiver; whereinthe at least one driver of the operating system is configured to form acommunication between the peripheral device and the processing device;wherein the processing device is configured to be coupled to the atleast one communications network via the peripheral device; and whereinthe peripheral device is configured to route image data between theprocessing device and the at least one communications network via thecommunication and the communication protocol is used for transferringthe image data between the processing device and the peripheral device.17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the at least one driver isa pre-installed generic driver and the communication protocol is ageneric communication protocol.
 18. The system according to claim 16further configured to present the peripheral device to the processingdevice as a human interface device and the driver is a human interfacedevice driver; or further configured to present the peripheral device asa mass storage device and the driver is a mass storage device driver; orfurther configured to present the peripheral device as a compositedevice and drivers drive different device interfaces with the processingdevice independently.
 19. The system according to claim 16 furthercomprising a display node of the at least one communications network,wherein the display node is coupled to a first display device of the oneor multiple display devices, and is configured to receive image data andto control display of images on the first display device; and aperipheral device connected to a port of one of the at least oneprocessing device and configured to communicate image data via the atleast one communications network, and configured to trigger transfer ofsaid image data to a transmitter through said port after a user actionon an input device.
 20. The system according to claim 16 furthercomprising a base node of the at least one communications networkconfigured to be set up for a communications network between the basenode and the peripheral device coupled to the at least one processingdevice; wherein the at least one processing device and the peripheraldevice are configured to transfer image data between the same, theperipheral device is configured to transmit the image data from theperipheral device to the at least one communications network, the basenode is configured to receive image data from the at least onecommunications network, and a first display device of the one ormultiple display devices device is configured to display images on theone or multiple display devices.
 21. The system according to claim 20,wherein the first display device is configured to display images inaccordance with a set of rules and wherein a rule is selected from anyof first-in-first-out, automatic, forced, on request or approval, inaccordance with a priority.
 22. The system according to claim 13,wherein the images comprise windows and/or videos and/or any othergraphic data.